Chris Hedges: ‘The Horror, the Horror’

Posted on Jul 26, 2013

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In the final installment of Chris Hedges’ appearance on “Reality Asserts Itself” with Real News Network senior editor Paul Jay, viewers ask the Truthdig columnist questions, including about the American public’s complicity in the crimes of empire, if there’s any hope for Bradley Manning and whether the U.S. or Israel will attack Iran.

To the question of the American public’s responsibility for the crimes committed in its name, Hedges said:

I would say very few Americans—and the exception would be probably those in the armed forces and those who work for contractors or the diplomatic service—actually grasp the dirty work of empire. Having spent 20 years of my life on the fringes of empire and seen how empire works, Conrad was right. It’s the horror, the horror. What is it that drones and hellfire missiles do to human bodies? Those images are rigorously censored. We never see them. We don’t understand what is done in our name. Instead, we’re fed this patriotic myth of glory and service and sacrifice and honor and heroism, terms that when you’re actually there on a battlefield become hollow if not obscene.

Watch the conversation in full below, read a transcript here, and see parts one, two, three, four, five and six if you haven’t already.